Daybreak
by Eternal Ending
Summary: When Sam accepts help a Supernatural book fan, his life crashes around him. Meanwhile Deans living the charmed life, until hes forced to decide between the two things he loves most, knowing that saying no is a death sentance. SxS DxL cont. of Angels Cry
1. Breaking ground

**Sam's always been the idiot little brother, never seeing things from the other side. But when he accepts help from Zach, a nerdy fan of the Supernatural books, he bites off more than he can chew. But between loathing him and respecting the younger man, Sam finds himself understanding finally what it means to be a big brother. His life begins to converge around him when an old flame surfaces along with some old enemies.**

**Meanwhile, Dean is living the life his brother always wanted with one problem: it isn't him. Until an unexpected call comes revealing some shocking news: his brother it alive! Dean drops everything, only to find himself stuck between the two things that matter most to him: his brother that he's desperately missed and the girlfriend and child that he never appreciated fully until they were threatened.**

**This story is cannon completely if you accept my shorter fic, Angels Cry, happened. Otherwise its AU.**

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Sam had to admit, for all the times he had heard of his family digging themselves out of the ground; it wasn't as fun as it sounded. He owed Adam and Dean props. The dirt that got in his system alone…he could have drowned in it. You'd think when an angel or God or whatever brought someone back from the dead, they could at least do them the courtesy of digging them out. For Christ's sake, do they get a sick kick out of watching him stagger for breath?

But that was all over and done now. And now here Sam was standing, in front of Lisa's house. The street light flickering out ominously the moment he walked by. Great, now even inanimate object hated him.

He'd been standing out there as the thunder above rumbled and a distant dog barked, finding it hard to believe he was even here. On some street in Cicero, Indiana, trying to get up the courage to walk through that front door to tell Dean his pretty much dead little brother was back from Hell on steroids. That would go over well with the neighbors, watching an unconvinced Dean have a knife fight on the front lawn.

The thing was, Sam highly doubted after all that he'd been through, his work was finally over. There was still so much he needed to do. Sam had almost caused the full on end of the world because he was so determined to carve out his own path. To not live in the shadows of his father and of his brother. As much as he hated it, Lucifer had a point; they were more alike than anyone else Sam had ever met.

Cheesily enough, Dean had the solution to the Apocalypse all this time. Sam couldn't keep the smirk from his face. It had been love that separated him from Lucifer. Unlike Michael and him, Dean and Sam had put their relationship above everything else. Above Sam's need to pull out of Dad's shadow or desire not to be forced to do something that went against his every nature. Above Dean's loyalty and desperation to prove himself to his father.

Sam needed to change that. There needed to be a greater reason he was set apart from Lucifer. It was the only way they could keep this from happening again.

Sam fingered Dean's amulet, innocent memories of that Christmas filling him from so long ago. Then came the more bitter memories. That time in Philadelphia when Sam had gotten hurt on a hunt and Dean took the fall, only to be blamed and barred from hunting for years. Dean had been so angry, he ripped off the amulet. It became something of a beacon to the brothers. As long as Dean was wearing it, Sam was still important to Dean. He still would drop everything to come and rescue his little brother. It had hurt Sam more than any vile words Dean could say, any punch or kick or shot his brother could take at him.

Stealing the amulet away from Dean's cold body two years ago. How badly Sam had yearned to Dean steal it back from him. His brother, his best friend, his protector, had disappeared, leaving his younger to explore life without him. He couldn't stand the idea of living the lonely hunting life without his brother; it was as if he was missing a piece of himself. The meat shield who zealously guarded him. From danger but also from the world. Sam had grown up finally in those few months without his brother, but that didn't mean he had any clue about who to trust.

Dean confessing he had lost faith in the younger Winchester and disposing of it in the hotel's trash can. It felt more final than watching the life drain from Dean's eyes. Sam had been too stunned to even bother picking it up, rather he raced after the elder Winchester. It had been Dean's responsibility. If he wouldn't take it anymore, then it would stay in the trashcan and rot.

How had it found him?

He could think of an explanation. It was a sign. A trinket trying to tell him what to do next. He tucked the amulet neatly under his shirt. It would be his responsibility now.

He looked back to the window as a fine sheen of rain started to fall, watching as Lisa gently kissed Dean and Ben played with his game boy, rolling his eyes. Dean had a life now. A family. It had been four months (oh the irony never stops) since Sam had been topside. He'd made a life out of the splinters Sam had left him with. What right did Sam have to rip that away from him? Maybe at one time he might have rushed in there, embracing his older brother for what seemed like hours. Maybe at one time, Sam would have been jealous, wanting to be in Dean's place. But seeing Dean live the normal apple pie life filled Sam with a warm feeling. He needed to know one of them would be happy with what Sam had in mind. Dean would stay simply because Sam had told him to. He was determined to keep that last promise to his brother.

But if Sam even so much as let Dean know he was alive, he knew there was no way Sam could ever carve out his own path.

But all in the same, Sam couldn't just leave forever. Not after all that they'd been through. Just not yet. He grabbed a used napkin out of the hijacked car he'd driven here.

So Sam Winchester left his brother that night, without even telling him he was alive. But he did leave something. Five words and a time messily scrawled on a napkin, sitting in the same spot where, twenty years ago (had it been that long?) Sam and Dean had childishly exchanged notes. It was a game, try to catch the other when he was awake. They'd write down the time they woke up till one of them slipped up and lost.

_Be safe_

_See you soon_

_8:34_

This story is going to be a little bit...well...different for me to write. It follows a plan I've had for quite some time for Angels Cry, using the fourth and fifth seasons unlike I had origionally intended. I've worked this chapter over so much you guys don't even know and I was origionally intending on having a bottom potion set about a year from the top which involved Dean and what was happenning to him so you aren't Sammed out so fast. But its too hard to keep the plotlines on the same times, so I'm going to have about four Sam chapters at the beginning here and then move over to Dean. I have many chapters going on here, so if I get enough reviews, I'll post the next two when I get on tommorrow. Otherwise, updates could be very scatter brained, expecially over the next week.


	2. Meeting Mr Drey

**Think you guys are going to love dorky little Zach. I've kind of developed a respect for him through writing about him though. He's just one of those characters for me that feels real. Well, real and super awkward. I've kind of got some funny scenes going where ever this kid goes. Sam and Dean lost a lot of their comic relief in the fifth season. It was going in the fourth but in the fifth, they had to switch to Cas for comic relief. It'll be nice to be able to have a character fresh and who still is up to speed with events. Well, sort of. **

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_Leadville, Colorado_

_One month post Hell _

_9:20 am_

Sam stared intently at the papers in front of him, stirring his coffee. Five abductions spread out over the course of the last two weeks. All of them children. All them were taken right from their beds. No one saw anything unusual the day before, save a high amount of fog. There was only one witness, the younger brother of one of the kids who was then taken three days after. His parents said their son had described it as a monster, even going so far as to vividly describe his brother being ripped out of bed and shoved into a thick bag. Of course, his parents had discredited the fouled, pitted greenish skin, and the excess of height, and the thick, rhinoceros-like legs their son had described, but it was all gold to Sam.

He was pretty sure of what he was hunting now. It went by many names; Jumbies, Dokebi, Lulu, khokhan…basically, the boogeyman. From what Sam had learned himself, he was almost certain that the boogeyman was simply a term for a much lesser, rogue pagan god. Like a trickster.

Boogeyman pagans were often disgruntled gods, tired of all the hype on using herbs and having chosen sacrifices. Because they no longer follow ritual, they have to prey on the weak and innocent. But unfortunately for Sam, they also were masters of disguise. They devote all of their abilities on stealth.

Most boogeymen were often gods of weather. There were so many, weather never got the attention it deserves. Hence the fog, which though the papers don't report on it, has been looking rather green according to the locals.

He still hadn't talked to Zach Drey, whose little brother was taken last Saturday. He needed to figure out what linked the victims. There was always something; some small thing they were doing that they thought was meaningless.

Sam could remember the only other time he'd ever faced a boogeyman. His father had come into town to hunt it, but things didn't go according to plan. Rather than take it down, the boogeyman captured Dean. Their dad was so pissed, he didn't let Sam out of his sight, but he was still desperately looking for Dean. He'd left Sam in the car while searching a nearby cave system. He found Dean unconscious along with the other children, only to return to the car and find the thing dragging a kicking Sam off into the caves. He'd chased it and then managed to put a perfectly aimed round of round of iron in its chest. John had been freaked out of hunting for a short period of time and then was back on the trail again.

Of course, when Dean woke up, he was pissed he didn't get the chance to help kill the boogeyman. Sam couldn't help but think privately that Dean would love to come on this hunt with him. It would be a dream come true for his nerd of an older brother.

Sam sighed and pulled out his laptop and a map, trying to spot connections between victim's homes and sewer systems, caves; anywhere dark and secluded. He came up with a few local stories about an abandoned mine and circled its location on the map. He also circled the sewers and a few abandoned bomb shelters from the Cold War.

He ran a hand through his hair and shut his computer. He might as well use the daylight and get going soon. His quarry didn't ever hunt in the daylight, but that didn't mean he couldn't find its hiding spot or at least some more information.

That was one good thing about hunting alone. Dean often slept in far too late to get enough information on the subjects. Of course, Sam had barely slept the last month. He was out of the pit, but if he let himself plunge his sub conscious, he was still there. Still screaming…

Sam shook his head and downed the rest of his black coffee. He'd go talk to Zach Drey, find out all of the little things he'd done the day before Carson Drey went missing. This would all be good.

Zach was still sleeping when the doorbell rung. He woke with a start, a paper stuck firmly on his head. It flopped over onto the computer desk as he banged his knees against the desk. Hissing a few cusses, he rubbed his knees tenderly before throwing the jeans he'd been wearing yesterday on.

He hobbled to the door as the bell rang again, attempting to play ballerina and slip on a pair of smelly, spotty socks at the same time as he walked.

He took a moment, trying to calm his messy black hair and wishing for about the thousandth time that he had gotten it cut shorter yesterday. It was to no avail; his hair was just too thick for that. With a sigh, he opened the door…and nearly jumped ten feet backwards.

Sam was a little put off by the grungy looking man standing in front of him. Not so much the fact that his shirt was twisted or his socks were mismatched as it was the expression on his face. It was panic and then this strange excitement and then finally he was desperately trying to primp himself and hide his face at the same time.

"Are you Mr. Zach Drey?" Sam asked after a moment of this behavior.

Zach's mouth was dry and all he could do was nod. Sam let out a nervous chuckle, showing Zach his badge ID. Just for kicks, Sam still stuck with the oddball, pop culture names on all his fake IDs and credit cards.

"I'm Agent Torres from the FBI and I'm investigating—" but he didn't finish. Zach had fainted onto the floor. To say Sam was shocked would be stating the obvious.

"Ummm Mr. Drey?" He prodded the passed out man's leg with his foot. Out stone cold. Sam sighed and dragged the man inside, hoping for the love of God he wasn't a creep. Of course, if he was, Sam would give him a nasty shock. He couldn't help but consider that maybe this was the pagan he was searching for, but what was the purpose of passing out like that and giving Sam access to his home free intrusion.

After being forced to clear an array of papers and food off the couch, he sprawled out Zach across it and waited, feeling uncomfortable in the apartment. It was fairly modest sized but also very cluttered. On the wall was a degree from Yale and Sam did a double take to Zach's motionless, drooling form. Surly not. Must be his father's or a forgery. Of course, the papers littering the floor seemed to be highly professional. He pursed his lips and spotted something that really surprised him. It was a Precision T7500 Dual Processor he'd dreamt about having since he had been a kid. But the thing was a home desktop system, plus it costs more than half a year's ammunition to buy. What the heck was a kid, barely past college age, doing with a computer system that expensive? On his paycheck, he should be stuggling to make rent, not throwing around 2,000 dollars on a computer. The monitor and keyboard were also pricy looking. What the hell?

He heard a soft groan and looked over to see Zach was pushing himself to a sitting position, but soon he just fell back down again. He stared at Sam like he was going to spontaneously combust in a half a second. Sam was seriously contemplating smacking him every time he did that when he spoke for the first time, his voice soft "It's you."

Sam cocked his brow. "What?"

"I know who you are." Zach declare, his voice gaining strength. "You're Sam Winchester."

It was Sam's turn to pale. What the fuck? He took a step back, uneasy that this kid knew who he was, onto yet another piece of garbage. But when he looked down, he suddenly knew what was going on. He bent over, taking in the crumpled cover of **Supernatural by Caver Edlund**.

"Oh God, not another one of you guys again." He hissed through gritted teeth. "I'm going to kill Chuck!" He threw away the detailed account of his and Dean's life, though not before taking in the cover of his book-self aka Fabio with Dean's book self and the Impala.

"I've read them all!" Zach adamantly declared. "And then last convention I was there. Becky told me afterwards who you were and I just about fainted." Sam rolled his eyes. "Of course, she had to do a little bit of convincing first." Zach added, as if not to seem so entirely creepy.

"Well then, was this all just a joke to you?" Sam threw the newspapers on the table. "You make up all these kids and stories just to get me here?"

"Me? No, no. Those are real. I've actually been tracking it since the third disappearance. But then…well, my brother went missing. Well, he's really my cousin, but my dad makes me look after him during summer. Little pain in the butt actually. Anyways, I did a little bit of research and I'm pretty sure I've figured out what's doing it."

Sam suppressed a grin. Well, hearing this kid's theory would likely be as entertaining as Ronald Resnick's mandroids. He nodded at Zach to continue, trying to keep a serious expression on his face.

"Well, based on the hunts I've read about, I quickly had it down to a few possibilities. Changlings, Striga, and acheri mostly. Well, changelings leave behind a kid of their own so they were out. Striga leave behind a body and acheri leave behind blood evidence usually. Plus it didn't fit with the witnesses description. So then I got to thinking out of the box. The kidnapping thing kind of sounds like a pagan god almost. Almost except there's no ritual. Plus the green mist that's been covering the neighborhood every time an abduction takes place. So, don't laugh, I was thinking boogeyman."

Sam's jaw literally dropped to the floor. How had a civilian put that together already when Sam, who'd been in town for a week, had just managed to get the answer himself last night? Sam shook it off. There was simply no way.

"There's something else." Zach rose to his feet. He rifled through some papers nervously but determined to prove he was on a roll. "I…uh found bills. Every family in this town tends to use the same services. That's the problem with small towns. We all went to Rick's Dinner within a week of loosing kids, but I went there without Carson plus it's the best place in town to get a beer. Not to mention the curly fries are great. So I crossed that off of commonalities. We all went camping within the last three weeks in the nearby mountains but that's too random. But here's one a little different," He passed off the paper in front of him to Sam, "we all went to Sal's bike shop exactly two days before the abductions. Sal's moved in to town five days before the first abduction."

"How did you put all of this together?" Sam said softly, looking down at the paper. He was a bit dumbfounded. Every single person who had lost a kid had indeed gone to Sal's and all of them had bought a bike for their kid. Probably more unsettling was the fact that the bike was always delivered the night before the accident. By the same person, Chester Donavan.

Zach reddened. "I stole the receipts." Sam blinked at him incredulously. "Okay, I hacked into their mainframe. Happy?" He turned a monitor toward Sam where every sell was detailed. As he watched another one popped up. A bike, to be delivered to the Jacobs family two days from now. Zach paled.

"What?"

"The Jacobs have two daughters. If I'm right, we've got sixty two hours."


End file.
